S Saketharaman @ Ranjani Fine Arts on July 14, 2012

[arvind.brahmakal]

Ranjani Fine Arts presents a grand Classical Music concert by :

Vocal : Vidwan S Saketharaman
Violin : Vidwan H K Venkataram
Mridangam : Vidwan Jayachandra Rao

Date : 14th July, 2012
Time : 5 PM
Venue : Sobha Lakeview Clubhouse, Off Sarjapur Outer Ring Road, Bellandur, Bangalore

[arvind.brahmakal]

Saketharaman began the evening on an auspicious note with a melodious and majestic rendition of the Sri ragam varnam. This was followed by a neat and tidy execution of Muttuswami Deekshitar's "Vallabhanayakasya" in Begada ragam. The artiste has a very natural way of blending melody and arithmetic in his music and this was apparent in the swaraprastharas that followed a wonderful rendition.

Next came a beautiful presentation of Ambujam Krishna's composition ' Azhaga azhaga ' in Shudha dhanyasi. The manodharma swaras were appealing and at the same time had intricate patterns. The sub main was Shanmukhapriya ragam followed by Swati Tirunal's "Mamava Karunaya". The alapana brought out the colours, moods and beauty of the raga in its entirety. H K Venkatram's return on the violin was mellifluous too. The kriti was rendered with a lot of passion and rounded off with some brilliant neraval and swaraprasthara patterns. Jayachandra Rao on the mridangam provided a rhythmically delightful experience in the thani avarthanam in Misra chapu talam.

The stage was now set for a grand Ragam Tanam Pallavi in ragas Vasantha and Kapi. The audience was spellbound when Saketharaman handled a very intricate pallavi set in Adi tala effortlessly and with a lot of finesse. The combination of Vasantha and Kapi ( two distinctly different ragas ) in an RTP is a challenge for an artiste to execute as also to switch between the two in short phrases. Both Saketharaman and H K Venkatram pulled this off quite effortlessly with good teamwork. The pallavi had ragamalika swaras in Vasantha, Kapi, Natakuranji and Neelamani ragas.

Catering to audience requests, he threw in some lilting melodies in kapi and darbari kanada and concluded the recital with Lalgudi Jayaraman's thillana in Yamunakalyani.

H.K.Venkataram on the violin and Jayachandra Rao on the mridangam played a very supportive role and contributed considerably to the musically memorable evening.

Saketharaman moved many a heart with his melodious music and it was indeed a fulfilling experience as a rasika to be able to listen to divine music.

[mahavishnu]

Thanks for your review, Arvind.Brahmakal.

The artiste has a very natural way of blending melody and arithmetic in his music and this was apparent in the swaraprastharas that followed a wonderful rendition.

I completely agree with your observation here. I heard him on his recent North American tour and felt the same way about his blending of melody with kalpanaswaram arithmetic and creative combinations. Very reminiscent of the great Lalgudi himself.

[rshankar]

Arvind: What was the pallavi sAhitya for the RTP?

Ramesh: Isn't Sri Saketharaman the brother of Smt. Vishakha Hari?

[arasi]

Ravi,
He is.

[mahavishnu]

Ravi: Arasi has already answered your question.
He is very different in personality (on-stage) and spirit from his sister though.

[kssr]

He is very different in personality (on-stage) and spirit from his sister though.

Saketh behaves very much befitting his age. Excellent singer. The sister's profession probably compels her to be more dramatic and exaggerated. A young lady talking with rolling eyes in terms of "kozhandai krishnan enna paNNaan theriyumo.." is quite humorous to me. I cannot derive devotion or emotion from it, although I guess that is the intention behind the presentation

[Rsachi]

Sir, somehow this concert discussion has digressed to a comment about Smt Vishakha Hari.
I found her harikathas on Prahlada and Andal and Hanuman truly inspiring.

[arvind.brahmakal]

Arvind: What was the pallavi sAhitya for the RTP?

"Varuvai Varadane Varamarulvai | Vadivazhaga Vinayvilnee " : Speciality is half the tala is Vasantha and the other half Kapi ; all the words start with "Va" in line with the rAga "Va"santha ; First half is ascent and the second half of the tala is the descent.....super, isn't it ?

Hope I have captured the spelling right to convey the meaning....request if any of you can drop a note in confirmation. Thanks

[arasi]

My guess is that it is 'viraivil nI varuvAi' .

[arvind.brahmakal]

My guess is that it is 'viraivil nI varuvAi' .

Thanks, Arasi Maam.

[vivek@mel]

Wao! Saketharaman came to Melbourne, Australia last year, and performed 2 concerts in the city!!!Eagerly waiting for his next arrival this Sep!